12/10/2014

MotorStartingElectronicSoftStart

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Motor Starting - Electronic Soft Start

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ByStevenMcFadyen(/users/steven)onOctober16th,2011

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Breathingasighofrelief,wearenowontothefinalmotorstartingsystemintheseries.
Beforetalkingaboutelectronicsoftstarting,isisworthmentioningthatthedevelopmentofpowerelectronicshasand
continuestorevolutionizethatwaymotorsareusedandapplicationstowhichtheycanbeapplied.Youcouldwritebooks

Youhavenophoto/avatar.Pleaseaddonenowandearn5points.
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(andsomepeoplehave)ontheapplicationofpowerelectronicstotherunningandcontrolofmotors.Thisisoutsidethe
scopeofwhatwearelookingat,andIwillonlybetalkingabouttheapplicationtostarting(andtheninonlyaverygeneral
way).
Whileprimarilydiscussingelectronicsoftstarters,letsrememberthatmoreadvanceddevices(variablespeeddrivesfor
example)havethisfunctionalityinbuilt.
Softstartersuseacombinationofpowerelectronicsandelectroniccontrolcircuitrytoslowincreasethevoltageonthe
motorduringstartingensuringasmoothacceleration.
Softstartersusethyristors(SiliconControlledRectifier)tocontroltheenergydeliveredtothemotor.Athyristorisadevice
whichturnsonwhenapulseisappliedtoitsgateandwillcontinuetoconductuntilthecurrentdropstozero(atwhichtime
itturnsoff).InanACsinewavecurrentgoestozeroeachhalfcycle,allowingthecurrenttobeturnedoffandmakingit
possibletouseusethyristorstoimplementsoftstarting.

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MotorStartingElectronicSoftStart

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(http://myelectrical.com/Portals/0/SunBlogNuke/2/WindowsLiveWriter/MotorStartingElectronicSoftStart_C7DF/Voltage%20Control%20by%20Thyristor%20Firing_2.jpg)
VoltageControlbyThyristorFiring

Ifthethyristorsareturnedonatthestartofeachhalfcycle,thefullvoltageisappliedtothemotor.Ifthethyristorsare
neverturnedon,thennovoltageisapplied.Ifthethyristorsareturnedonpartwaythroughthehalfcycle,onlyaproportion
ofthevoltagewillbeappliedtothemotor.Bycontrollingtheturningon(firingangle)ofthethyristors,theamountofvoltage
onthemotorcanbecontrolled.Startingwithalargefiringdelay,thisisgraduallyreducedandthevoltageonthemotorwill

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rampupduringstarting.

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Inadditiontostarting,softstartunitscanalsobeusedforstoppingthemotor,byrampingthevoltagedown.Thisis
particularlyusefulwheresuddenlossofdrivingtorquewouldcreatemechanicalshockontheload.

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Electronicsoftstarterscontainthethyristors(powerside)andnecessaryelectronicstocontrolthefiring(viausersettings).
NOTES(HTTP://MYELECTRICAL.COM/NOTES)
Modernsoftstartershaveahostoffeaturesthemostcommonbeingoptionstosetvaryingstartandstopramps,setting

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oftheinitialstartingvoltage,currentlimitingcontrolandthermaloverloadprotection.

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Theeasiestapplicationofelectronicsoftstartersisoneunitpermotor.Toreducecost,sometimesmorethanonemotoris
connectedinparalleltoasoftstarter,ormotorsarestartedinsequencebyswitchingthesoftstartunitbetweenmotors.
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Whilethesemethodscanbeused,carehastobetakentoensurethattheunitsareadequatelyratedfortherequired
duties.

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Asacautionarynote,firingofthyristorsotherthanazerovoltage(current)willcreateanonlinearloadcharacteristic,
generatingtransientsandharmonics.Ingeneralapplication(andgiventhatthetransients/harmonicsareonlypresent

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duringstarting),thesearenotaproblem.However,therecouldbeinstancesandspecialsituationswherethesedohavean
adverseeffectonthepowersystem.

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Contents[hide]
1. PowerandControlCircuiting
1. FeaturesandApplication
2. ElectronicSoftStartCharacteristics
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Power and Control Circuiting

Thefigureillustratesthesimplestconnectionofanelectronicsoftstarter.Inthis,thesoftstartunitissimplyconnected
intothecircuitandcarriesoutthenecessaryfunctions.
Whilethisisthesimplestimplementationyouwilloftenfindabypasscontactor(toswitchoutthesoftstarterwhenthe
motorisuptospeed)andalinecontactortoswitchfullstartingcircuitin/out.Othervariationsofcontrolcircuitwould
includecascadingstartandcontrolforbothforwardandreversedirections.Invariablytherewouldalsobecommunications
toeithercontrolormonitorthefunctioningofthemotor.

Features and Application

Softstartershavemanyfeaturesnotfoundintraditionalstartingmethodsandwhichcanbeofbenefitinsomesituations.
Theseinclude:
AdaptiveAccelerationControlsoftstarterlearnsmotorsperformanceduringstartandstop,thenadjusts
controltooptimizeperformance
SoftStoppingslowlybringthemotortoastop
DCBrakinginjectingDCtoreducemotorstoppingtime
SoftBrakingchangingcontactorsonstarterinput,reversingmotordirectionandapplyingbraking
CurrentLimitinglimitstartingcurrenttoapredefinedvalue(maylowertorquetomuchandmotormaynot
accelerate)

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MotorStartingElectronicSoftStart

(http://myelectrical.com/Portals/0/SunBlogNuke/2/WindowsLiveWriter/MotorStartingElectronicSoftStart_C7DF/Soft%20Starter_2.jpg)
MotorSoftStarting
CurrentRampingincreasingthecurrentoveragiventimetoaspecifiedlimit
Jogallowsthemotorstoberunatreducedspeedforsometime
KickStartingusingabriefhighbustofcurrentatthemotorstarttogetitgoing,thenreducingthecurrent
ThermalModellingmotorsthemotorsthermalcharacteristic,allowperformanceoptimization
Communicationmostindustrialprotocolswillbesupported,enablingenhancedcontrol/monitoring
Linecontactorscanbeused(butnotstrictlynecessary)toisolatethesoftstartwhennotinuse(shouldberatedAC3).If
required,bypasscontactorscanbyusedtominimizeheatbuildupduethetoSCR's(canratedAC1astheydonotcarry
startingcurrents).
Sequencestartingcanbeusedtostartseveralmotorsinsequence(orparallel).Startersneedtoberatedforfullstart
duty.Additionalwiring,contactorsandcontrolrelaysmaynotmakethisaneconomicoption.

Powerfactorcorrectionifrequiredshouldonlybeinstalledonthelinesideandswitchedinwhenthemotorisatfullspeed
(AC6contactors).Capacitorsinstalledonthemotorsidecancauseresonance,increasedvoltagesandequipmentfailure.
Insidedeltaconnectionisatechniquewhichcanbeusedwithsixwindingmotors.Inthisconfiguration,onlyhavethedelta
iscompletedinthatstarter,thusreducingthecurrentthestarterisrequiredtocarry.Onlyalimitednumberofsoftstarters
areabletobeusedinthistypeofapplication.

Electronic Soft Start Characteristics

Availablestartingcurrent:25to75%,adjustable
Peakstartingcurrent:2to5In,adjustable
Peakstartingtorque:10to70%,adjustable

Advantages

Disadvantages

FullyAdjustableParameter

MoreExpensiveCanInjectTransients

Compact,SolidStateAdaptableto

intoSupply

Application

That'sitforallthestartingmethods.Nowwehavefinishedwitheachmethodindetail,there'sjustonemoreposttocome.
Iwillbewritingasummaryposttoroundofftheseries,pullingtogetherwhatwevediscussedandputtingthingsinto
context.
<MotorStartingRotorResistance(http://myelectrical.com/notes/entryid/92/motorstartingrotorresistance)

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